Sportsnaut
The Las Vegas Raiders are currently working on finalizing their 53-man roster in time for the NFL’s cutdown deadline on Tuesday. Like all other NFL teams, the Raiders started with a group of 90, and they’ll be handing 37 players their walking papers before Wednesday arrives. If they’re lucky, 17 of them will land back on the Raiders’ practice squad, barring other roster changes.
Yet, the Raiders’ decision-making may have just been complicated by a trade request from one of their star players and standout performers.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers has requested a trade. Meyers reportedly met with the team and put in his request after the two sides could not agree on a new contract.
This comes as a bit of a surprise to some, but Meyers has been secretly angling for a new contract behind the scenes for quite some time now. However, the Raiders, citing his value after recording a career-high 1,028 receiving yards and four touchdowns, are refusing to deal Meyers to another team.
It sets up a juicy situation to monitor in Vegas over the next few days. If a new contract doesn’t arrive in time for the Raiders’ opener, would the 28-year-old receiver threaten to hold out and refuse to play? Or would the Raiders privately shop him on the NFL trade block, hoping to receive an offer too good to refuse.
Though, any offer would likely have to include another proven receiver heading back to the Raiders, as they’re expecting Meyers to be their leading wide receiver, earning the second-most targets on the team behind tight end Brock Bowers.
The Raiders’ dependence on Meyers puts them in a tough spot. He certainly has some leverage, but that doesn’t mean they have to play ball, especially considering he’ll be subject to fines if he misses practice and/or games.
Meyers is set to have a base salary of $10.5 million in 2025 and a cap hit of $14.9 million. That’s a reasonable rate for what he offers, yet it’s also not hard to see why he wants more money after a career year.
The Raiders may prefer that Meyers plays out his contract and tries to earn an even bigger deal at the end of the year. If he performs well catching passes from Geno Smith, Meyers could be set to cash in in a big way.
Related: 5 Las Vegas Raiders QB Targets After Aidan O’Connell’s Injury
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